This disclosure relates to body sealing components and particularly incorporating a seal assembly with an inner trim panel. It will be appreciated, however, that the disclosure has broader implications particularly with reducing the costs of an inner door panel or inner sheet metal, or potentially eliminating the inner door panel in its entirety.
Automotive vehicle manufacturers are always seeking to reduce the cost of manufacturing a vehicle. In particular, a large component of the cost relates to assembly of the vehicle. Installing door mounted primary seals, for example, is extremely labor intensive and consequently adds significant cost to the vehicle. The same applies to other automotive sealing system components such as inner belts, glass runs, secondary or auxiliary seals such as rocker or dust seals, cut lines (fin-type seals) for example along A pillar and B pillar locations, etc. In an effort to reduce the amount of labor required to install these components, alternative arrangements for mounting the seal components are always desired.
Additionally, a great amount of time, money, and tooling is spent by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to stamp an inner panel of a vehicle door. Great precision is required in the tooling and stamping process so that no wrinkles or creases develop around the tight radii so as to present a pleasingly aesthetic surface. Further, locations where there are deep draws in the door panel are another source of increased cost. Inner door panels are usually provided for structure and assembly convenience. Thus, eliminating the need for precision and door appearance can result in significant savings for the OEM or eliminating the need for the structure or assembly of an inner door panel.
Thus, a continued need exists for an improved inner trim panel and sealing components that address one or more of the drawbacks noted above.